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SAM ASH - One of the most prolific studio tenors of the World War I era, Ash later founded the Ashcraft Corporation, a manufacturer of hobby woodworking kits.

JOHN YORKE AtLEE - AtLee retired from recording in 1898 and moved to Charleston, South Carolina - where he managed the Duston-Smith Piano Company's phonograph department - in 1899.

GENE AUSTIN - Once Victor's biggest-selling crooner, Austin's star faded in mid-1930s, and by the early 1940s he was managing a record store in Shreveport, Louisiana. His brief comeback on various minor labels in the later 1940s attracted little attention.

GEORGE WILTON BALLARD - Ballard returned to his native Syracuse, New York in the 1920s and worked there as a diamond specialist from 1939 until his death in 1950.

JOE BELMONT - Appropriately enough for a performer who made a career as a whistler and bird imitator, Belmont later operated a bird store Radio City.

JOHN BIELING (of the AMERICAN QUARTET) - Bieling retired from the American Quartet in April 1914 because of throat trouble and took an executive position with Victor.

FREDERICK V. BOWERS - After a successful career in vaudeville, Bowers managed his own music publishing company. In 1922 he won a lawsuit against songwriter and publisher Perry Bradford over the origin of Bradford's "Crazy Blues."

FANNY BRICE - Although Brice remained active in radio work, she also developed a following as a professional interior decorator and designed rooms for Ira Gershwin, Katherine Hepburn, Dinah Shore, and Danny Kaye.

HARRY C. BROWNE - Browne worked as a production director and announcer for the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1926 through 1931. A Christian Scientist, Browne in 1932 left entertainment to serve as First Reader of the Second Church, New York (1932-1936) and the Mother Church, Boston (1938-1941). He was elected president of the Mother Church (1948-1949).

HENRY BURR - In 1928, with his recording career virtually over, Burr formed his own radio production company. In 1930 he was appointed head of the CBS Artists Bureau, but left within a short time to join the staff of WLS-Chicago. In 1934 he became a regular feature on WLS' National Barn Dance broadcasts.

DOLLY CONNOLLY - Committed to a New York sanitarium in the late 1940s by her songwriter husband, Percy Wenrich, Connolly was released following his death in 1952. She spent the remainder of her life with her sister in New York, supported by an ASCAP pension.

FRANK COOMBS - Coombs eventually moved to Seattle, and from 1926 until his death in 1941 he hosted "Uncle Frank's Children's Matinee," a weekly child talent show on KOL and later KJR.

FRANK CROXTON - In the 1930s, Croxton gave voice lessons and performed regularly as bass soloist at Seventh Baptist Church (Baltimore) and the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas (New York).

VERNON DALHART - In dire financial straits by 1938, Dalhart made an unsuccessful comeback attempt on the Bluebird label the following year. By 1940 he had moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he first offered voice lessons and took menial jobs. During World War II, he worked as a guard at a Bridgeport defense plant. At the time of his death in 1948, he was a night clerk at the Barnum Hotel in Bridgeport.

HARRY A. DELMORE - After his last public appearance (New York's Grace Congregational Church, February 3, 1929), Delmore operated the Delmore Studio of Singing in New York.

S.H. DUDLEY - Dudley (whose real name was Samuel Holland Rouse, and who should not be confused with a black stage performer of the same name) retired from recording in 1912 to become assistant manager of the Victor Talking Machine Company's Artist & Repertoire Department. He wrote several early editions of The Victor Book of the Opera under his real name before retiring from Victor in 1919. He later settled in France but returned to the U.S. at the outbreak of World War II.

CLIFF EDWARDS (UKULELE IKE) - Edwards' later life was a string of disasters that included three bankruptcies, marital and tax problems, and drunken-driving charges. At the time of his death, he was receiving welfare and confined to a California nursing home.

MARGUERITE FARRELL - Farrell retired from entertainment after her marriage. Following her husband's death in 1947, she worked for the Erie County Social Welfare Bureau in Buffalo, New York.

ARTHUR FIELDS - As his incredibly productive studio career wound down in early 1930s, Fields turned increasingly to radio work. In 1949 he hosted The Arthur Fields Show and was a cast member of Ray Walker's Tavernaires, local radio shows broadcast over WKAT in Miami. He died in 1951 in a fire at the Littlefield Nursing Home (Miami).

ANTOINETTE GARNES - A pioneering black concert artist who recorded for Black Swan in the early 1920s, Garnes later taught voice at Hampton Institute and Wilberforce University. She served as head of the music department at Lincoln University, 1937–1938.

HARRY GEIS - Geis, a popular 1920s Chicago radio announcer who recorded for Marsh Laboratories (Autograph) in 1925, worked as a script and music writer for M-G-M films in the 1940s. He also played West Coast night clubs before his death in Hollywood in 1953.

GENE GREENE - The "Ragtime King" made his last recordings around World War I and retired from the stage in the late 1920s to manage a restaurant in Grand Rapid, Michigan. After his restaurant ran afoul of the Volstead Act (Prohibition) and was closed, Greene attempted a comeback at the Grand Opera House (New York) on April 5, 1930, with tragic results. Variety reported, "Greene's voice was pretty well gone...there was exertion written all over, but it was that same energy that brought Greene out for extra bows." Shortly after the performance, Greene was found backstage, dead from a heart attack.

CHARLES HACKETT - Hackett was appointed vocal instructor at Julliard School in 1939, following his last appearance with the Metropolitan Opera.

WENDELL HALL - The "Red Headed Music Maker" made a smooth transition from the recording to the radio studio. In 1929 he produced, directed, and MC'd the "Majestic Theater of the Air." He was featured on "The Fitch Band Wagon (NBC, 1932-1935) and hosted "Community Sing" (NBC, 1935-1937). In the 1940s he headed Adsongs, a Chicago advertising agency that produced transcribed musical spots. In 1951 he starred in "Wendell Hall Reflections" over WBBM-TV.

WILL HALLEY - In 1918, William J. Hanley (Halley's real name) was elected to the New Jersey Assembly, from which he resigned in short order to join the Marines. In 1923 he was appointed as judge to the Hudson District Court, where he remained for ten years. He later served as attorney for the Hoboken, New Jersey, school board and maintained a private criminal law practice.

ED HEALY (of CROSS & HEALY) - Healy retired from vaudeville in or around 1931 and moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he operated a restaurant.

REVELLA HUGHES - Following her brief appearance in the Black Swan list in 1921–1922, Hughes appeared in several all-black Broadway productions in the later 1920s. By 1933 she had moved to West Virginia, where she organized her own touring concert company. Her last public appearance was not as a vocalist, but as a Hammond organ soloist at Small's (New York) in 1949.

EDDIE HUNTER - Hunter remained active as a comedian up to World War II, but by the late 1960s he was working as a building superintendent in Harlem. [Thanks to Frank Driggs for passing this information along.]

RUSSELL HUNTING - The creator of the popular "Michael Casey" skits was active as a recording manager in Europe during the early years of the century but returned to the United States in 1914 to manage Pathe's New York record operation. He remained in that position, with one brief hiatus, through the mid-1920s.

ELSIE JANIS - In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Janis worked as a writer for Paramount Pictures, contributing to the scripts of Close Harmony (1929) and Paramount on Parade (1930). She came out of retirement briefly in 1939 to appear in Frank Fay's Music Hall.

GEORGE WASHINGTON JOHNSON - With his limited repertoire and dated style, this pioneer black recording star was not much in demand as a studio performer after 1905. At the time of his death in 1914 he was working as a doorman at Len Spencer's Lyceum. In the 1950s, several writers reported incorrectly that Johnson had been executed for murdering his wife.

ADA JONES - Although Jones was still recording in the early 1920s, her releases were few and far between. At the time of her death in May 1922, she was on the road with her own company under the management of O.E. Wee.

SCRAPPY LAMBERT - Lambert stopped performing in the early 1940s to take an executive position with MCA in California. In the 1950s he became a real estate agent.

CAROLINA LAZZARI - Lazzari was a highly respected voice instructor after her retirement from the stage. Her students included Judy Garland, Dennis Day, Irene Manning, and Frank Parker.

SILAS LEACHMAN - Leachman's death certificate notes that he was a personnel department clerk with the Chicago police at the time of his death in 1936.

ELIZABETH LENNOX - Lennox continued her concert career until 1942. She later helped organize the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Symphony and was program director of its summer series for 17 years. She was a trustee of the Westport (Connecticut) School of Music and served on the board of associate trustees of the Manhattan School of Music. In 1976 she was named one of the 100 Outstanding Women of Connecticut by Governor Ella Grosso.

LITTLE JACK LITTLE - By 1947, Little was working as a disc jockey in Washington, D.C. He committed suicide in 1956.

HARRY MACDONOUGH - Macdonough was appointed manager of Victor's New York studio in 1913. By 1920, when he made his last commercial recordings, Macdonough was working as a Victor sales manager, and in November 1923 he was appointed manager of Victor's Artist & Repertoire Department. In November 1925 he was recruited by Columbia as a recording manager, a position he held until his death in September 1931.

ED MEEKER - The Edison studio's "jack-of-all-trades," Meeker retired from recording in the early 1920s to work as an assistant supervisor at the Edison plant. He remained with the company until it closed its record division in late 1929.

JOHN H. MEYER - The Peerless Quartet's bass retired from recording in 1927 to manage his New York floral business, which he inherited from his uncle, John Wilbur. (Meyer occasionally used Wilbur's name as a pseudonym.)

ARTHUR MIDDELTON - Variety reported that Middelton instructed at an unspecified music conservatory beginning in 1925. He died of Bright's Disease in 1929 in Chicago.

POLK MILLER - Recording was actually a side-line with Miller. His Polk Miller Products Company (Richmond, Virginia) marketed a successful line of veterinary medicines.

ELIDA MORRIS - After marrying and retiring from the stage in 1923, Morris developed an interest in aviation and founded the Women's Aeronautical Association, of which Amelia Earhart was a member. With the outbreak of World War II, Morris served as director of the Volunteer Camp Shows, organizing companies to entertain American troops.

BILLY MURRAY - Murray took various odd jobs during the 1930s that included performing for "bouncing-ball" sing-along films and providing voices for cartoon shorts. He also played character roles on The Parker Family and NBC radio shows.

J. HAROLD MURRAY - The star of 1927's Rio Rita campaigned unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the Connecticut state senate in 1938.

JOE NATUS - After poor health forced him to retire from the stage in 1915, Natus worked as a hotel clerk in Rome, New York.

EDDIE NELSON - In the 1930s, Nelson was featured in a series of one-reel films, according to his 1940 Variety obituary.

WILL OAKLAND - Oakland filed for bankruptcy in August 1934, at which time he was working as "resident manager and entertainer" for the Valley Stream Catering Company of Long Island, New York. In retirement he lived on a pension in a rooming house in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, according to his New York Times obituary.

VESS L. OSSMAN - After making his last recordings in late 1917 or early 1918, Ossman led hotel dance orchestras in Dayton and Indianapolis. He returned to the stage (but not to the recording studios) in 1923. He died in Minneapolis on December 8, 1923, after suffering a heart attack onstage.

STEVE PORTER - Porter was supported by income from his hearing-aid invention, the Portophone, in his later years.

GEORGIE PRICE - This capable Jolson imitator later founded and was first president of the American Guild of Variety Artists. He eventually retired from entertainment entirely to take a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

WILLIAM ROBYN - Robyn performed for many years as a cantor in New York synagogues under his birth name, William Rubin.

PAUL SOUTHE - Southe made his last records in 1910 but continued to perform on stage until a cardiac condition forced him to retire in 1936. He later worked as sales manager for a cleaning compound company in New York and served as president of the Professional Entertainers' League of New York.

BILLY B. VAN - Van retired from the stage in the late 1920s and served as president of the Pine Tree Products Company (New York) until 1938. He was later elected mayor of Newport, New Hampshire.

CLARICE VANCE - After 1914 Vance lived in increasing obscurity. Her final appearance on stage was as half of an afternoon bill at the Tivoli Opera House (San Francisco) in 1919. In the mid-1920s she took minor roles in the silent pictures, including Nahoma in "Down to the Sea in Ships" and Mrs. Dabb in Fox's "Daughters of the Night." In the 1930s she occasionally worked as a dress extra for Warner Brothers. Her last years (1944 - 1950)were spent in a dilapidated apartment building at 1535 Pine Street in San Francisco. In 1951 she was became a resident of the Napa Hospital for the Insane, where she remained until her death at age 90 in August 1961. She is buried as "31" in the St. Helena Cemetery in the Napa Valley. [Contributed by Sterling Morris]

ROBERT J. WILDHACK - Wildhack combined careers as cartoonist, vaudeville headliner, and recording comedian. In 1931 he was featured on KECA-Los Angeles as "The Cartoonist of the Air."

EDITH WILSON - After a long and distinguished career on records, stage, radio, and the screen, Wilson retired from entertainment in 1966 to serve as executive secretary of the Negro Actors Guild. She was elected vice president of the guild in 1970.

LOUIS WINSCH - Winsch enjoyed modest success as a Pathé recording artist during the World War I era, but wisely kept his day job at a Philadelphia phonograph store.

HORACE WRIGHT - Wright left entertainment in 1930 to become a car salesman, although he made occasional radio broadcasts in the later 1930s.

References
Gracyk, Tim, and Frank Hoffmann: The Encyclopedia of Popular American Recording     Pioneers: 1895-1925. Published by the authors, 1996.
New York Times and Variety obituary archives.